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AAJ Statement on House Passage of the REINS Act

Legislation Could Block Health and Safety Regulations, Endanger Public

Contact:

Ben Somberg

Email:

ben.somberg@justice.org

Phone:

202-965-6645

Washington, DC—The following is a statement from American Association for Justice CEO Linda Lipsen in response to today’s passage of the “Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act of 2015” [H.R. 427] in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“Congress should focus on legislation that will hold corporations accountable when they market dangerous and defective products, poison the environment, or cheat Americans out of their hard-earned money. Instead, the U.S. House of Representatives voted today to undermine our existing laws and hinder the ability of federal agencies to protect the public.

“The REINS Act needlessly unravels the thorough and thoughtful rulemaking process, and gives Corporate America even more power to block critical government efforts to act in the public interest to protect our health, safety, and economic security.

Congress adopted this system more than a hundred years ago because it recognized the necessity and efficiency of assigning the job of crafting appropriate regulations to the scientific, economic, legal, and other experts in the various agencies.

The REINS Act would require all economically significant regulations to be approved by Congress, by means of a joint congressional resolution, and signed by the President before taking affect.

The REINS Act would allow for a few members of Congress to delay or even block implementation of significant health and safety regulations, including regulations put forth by the Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and Consumer Product Safety Commission.

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The American Association for Justice works to preserve the constitutional right to trial by jury and to make sure people have a fair chance to receive justice through the legal system when they are injured by the negligence or misconduct of others—even when it means taking on the most powerful corporations. Visit http://www.justice.org.